After trekking since dawn, a migrant caravan arrived in Escuintla, a small town of 30,000 inhabitants situated alongside the coastal highway, 73 kilometers from Tapachula. Seeking respite from the journey, they settled in the town’s Central Park, finding shelter under a canopy that offered protection from a light afternoon rain. Exhausted from their travels, migrants laid out cardboard, black plastic bags, and thin mats on the concrete to rest. Many immediately fell asleep for over two hours. Once somewhat recovered, the group dispersed to find food, water, phone recharge services, and financial service stores to receive money transfers. Some located a public restroom and took turns washing with water from the sinks.
Amidst the town’s streets, a visibly distressed pregnant woman, four months along, desperately inquired about room rentals. Yessi, as she introduced herself, had made the difficult decision to leave the caravan. Her journey since arriving in Mexico had been fraught with hardship. She was utterly exhausted, and the pain from blisters on her feet made it nearly impossible to continue walking.
The 25-year-old from El Salvador recounted her ordeal, explaining she was detained by Mexican immigration authorities shortly after entering Mexico, just outside Ciudad Hidalgo. Yessi claimed officials deceived her, separated her from her companions, and held her incommunicado.
“They take you to a jail. Yes, it’s like a jail. They held us incommunicado for 24 hours. Terrible treatment. All the food they gave us was bland, without salt, without any flavor,” she narrated.
The “jail” Yessi referred to is Estación Migratoria Siglo XXI, in Tapachula, Chiapas, considered the largest migrant detention center in Latin America, with a capacity for 960 people. High walls topped with barbed wire encircle the station, giving it the appearance of a prison perimeter.
Testimonies gathered for this report consistently describe the facility as a place where migrants are temporarily confined for entering the country without legal authorization. Subsequently, they are separated from each other, regardless of family ties. Upon entry, cell phones are confiscated, cutting off their ability to communicate with the outside world or each other.
Migrants desperately search for family members at the Siglo XXI station. Information is not readily provided by authorities. Photo: Valente Rosas.
Between 24 and 32 hours later, migrants are typically released to begin procedures to regularize their status in Mexico. Some are involuntarily sent to shelters, others are released outside the detention center, and still others are transported by bus to immigration checkpoints outside Tapachula. From these checkpoints, they are further transported by trucks towards Tuxtla Gutiérrez.
This transfer often turns into a nightmare for many migrants. Families are sometimes moved without all members present and without receiving accurate information about their location or destination.
Migrants are transported by bus to Tuxtla Gutiérrez, Chiapas, in an effort to alleviate overcrowding in Tapachula. Photo: Valente Rosas.
A study conducted by the Grupo Impulsor Contra la Detención Migratoria y la Tortura (Promoting Group Against Migrant Detention and Torture), a collective of over 10 human rights organizations, warns that migrant detention centers expose individuals to cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment, and in some instances, even torture.
Activists interviewed for this report concur that these deeply rooted practices by immigration authorities aim to push people to their limits, break their will, and force them to abandon their journey.
Two Venezuelan women care for their babies while awaiting information about the whereabouts of their husbands outside the Siglo XXI station. Photo: Valente Rosas.
Back in Escuintla, Yessi continued her search for housing and found a room for rent at an exorbitant price of five thousand pesos per week, far beyond her budget. Returning to the park, her friends advised her to rest and reconsider leaving the caravan. Upon reaching the park, she laid a piece of cardboard on the concrete plaza floor and lay down to rest. It was six in the evening. For ongoing news and detailed reports on migration and related issues in Mexico, sources like El Universal Mexico provide valuable insights and updated information.
